Film documents Leeville's struggles

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 9:22 PM

A new documentary aims to personalize the coastal erosion taking place in Lafourche Parish.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

A new documentary aims to personalize coastal erosion in a south Lafourche fishing village.“Water like Stone,” a film created by two Louisiana State University educators, focuses on the people who inhabit Leeville. “It's such a unique place,” said LSU's screenwriter-in-residence Zack Godshall. “It's been left out of the protection areas, and it has been left out of modern life in many ways.”The community is home to a few dozen permanent residents and serves as a staging point for recreational and commercial fishing. Once a bustling town, the encroachment of salt water has all but strangled land-dwelling life. Where tall trees once stood beside sprawling orchards, only marsh grass and water remain. Leeville sits in a precarious spot. It's miles outside the parish's levee system to the north. Ten miles of open water and marsh to the south separates it from the frenetic Port Fourchon that serves the oil and gas industry. The new La. 1 bridge also bypasses a few of the remaining businesses in the town. “It's cut off in many ways. That's what makes the place and the people so interesting,” said Michael Pasquier, assistant professor of Religious Studies at LSU.The two directors said they spent months in south Lafourche before they decided Leeville was the place to base the film. “We kept meeting more and more interesting and unique people here,” Pasquier said. “Their kindness and generosity was overwhelming.” The film is about coastal land loss but doesn't bombard the viewer with dozens of regularly cited statistics about erosion.South Lafourche Levee District Manager Windell Curole delivers the dreary statistics on land loss, but the film is really about people telling the joys and struggles of Leeville. “The reason I think a film like this is important is it gives a voice and face to the people who have gone through a lot,” Pasquier said.The film doesn't follow a traditional narrative flow. After an opening interview with a colorful local woodcarver, the documentary gives a short primer on coastal erosion before delving into Leeville's history. Lafourche Parish Librarian Paul Chiquet uses the Galliano branch library's extensive exhibits on south Lafourche history to illustrate Leeville's historic roots.Using old paintings, Chiquet tells how residents of the once-bustling community of Cheniere Caminada near Grand Isle made their way up Bayou Lafourche to Leeville. “There were huge trees, orchards and fields and houses,” Chiquet said. “All that is gone now. It will be a memory.” The film features interviews with a dozen or so inhabitants of Leeville. It includes anecdotes from beaten but upbeat commercial fishermen, a nostalgic oyster farmer, recreational fishing guides, weekend visitors and the man with the so-called coolest job in Leeville — an ice maker. Each gives an account of life in Leeville. Some are optimistic and hilarious. Others show a darker reality of life. These segments of personality are married with visuals focused on Leeville's natural beauty. “I think the film is important because as of today there is not a Callet family, there is not Lee family, there is not a Lafont family, there is not a Picciola family that is trying to save their history,” Chiquet said after viewing the film. The directors screened the film at the South Lafourche Library in front of about 130 people last week. “It was definitely informing, moving and touching,” said Edward “T-Boy” Barnes Jr., whose father is featured in the film. “Leeville is basically going to be lost because of the land loss and the bridge. The change has been incredible in just my lifetime.” Chiquet said it's crucial that people preserve the memory of Leeville because one day that will be all that remains of the town.Pasquier said the duo will be screening the film at various film festivals and will likely sell the film on DVD this year.